


in my bones and under my skin

by BetweenLines55



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Headcanon: Doctor Will, Headcanon: Southern Will, M in later chapters, M/M, On Hiatus, Stripper AU, all the tropes you could ever want, date rape drug mention, fanfic-the-eighth-wonder.tumblr.com, lost pet AU, roommate au, will add characters as they come up
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-11-05
Updated: 2015-05-29
Packaged: 2018-02-24 04:13:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,765
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2567816
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BetweenLines55/pseuds/BetweenLines55
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Will really doesn't like the night shift. That's when Nico lives. </p><p>A chance encounter one night in a rickety elevator and a lost pet bring these two spiraling together; Will finds himself caring for his neighbor more and more until it just might save Nico's life.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

I.

To keep himself from falling asleep at all the traffic lights, he alphabetizes the bones in the human body.

“Calcaneus.” He mutters, “Capitate and carpals.”

He blinks and presses his foot down on the gas pedal when the light changes. The car behind him honks for him to speed up.

“Cervical vertebrae—I’m going the legal limit, asshole—clavicle, coccyx.”

If he could, he would speed up, but if he gets pulled over now, he’d probably fall asleep as soon as he stopped the car and the officer asked him for his driver’s license. Right now, a comfortable 40 mph on Main Street is what the obviously _incredibly_ important person behind him is going to have to deal with.

The fleeting idea of stopping at the 24-Hour diner on the corner of West and Main to get some dinner goes through his mind as he makes his way through “femur, fibula and frontal”. It’s shot down, however, when he realizes that means walking more than he needs to and includes the possibility of dozing off with angry Greek restaurant owners yelling at him to order or get out of their restaurant. He likes that restaurant, it’s one of the few Travis and Connor haven’t gotten them banned from yet, so he’s going to try and keep it that way.

He’s down to “humerus and hyoid” when he pulls into the parking lot in front of their building. He’s the last car in the lot for the night, and in the spot the farthest from the door. Honestly, the idea of sleeping for a few hours in his car is sounding better and better, but a bed and a cup of tea is still, at this point, ideal and doable. Hopefully, Travis has even left him some enchiladas from dinner in the fridge.

Hauling himself out of the car, he digs the key to the building out of the pocket of his jacket (they lock up after midnight and it has to be 3:30 am _at least_ ) and struggles to get the key into the lock. If he wasn’t dressed in his scrubs, he’d probably look like a drunkard.

He half wishes he was drunk. It would probably be nicer than feeling like this.

God, does he hate the night shift.

“Hey, wait a second!” He almost doesn’t hear it in time to catch the door for the man that had called out to him.

 _Must’ve been wrong,_ he thinks, _I didn’t take the last parking space after all._

The man that yelled for him to keep the door open slips in under his arms. The stranger can’t be more than five and a half feet tall, maybe a little more with his combat boots on. He’s thin and smells of beer and sex, covered in a fine layer of silver and gold glitter. Bar tender, he thinks, or club go-er, even though it is only Thursday night. Friday morning. Whatever.

“Thanks.” The stranger grunts.

“You’re welcome.” He says and doesn’t know why he bothers. It’s probably almost four in the morning, the last thing anyone should care about right now is manners.

They head to the elevator together, the stranger half a step behind him. The doors slide open immediately (who in their right mind would be up to use it?) and he asks, “What floor?” since he’s closer to the buttons.

“Fifth.” The stranger says, which is odd because that is also his floor and he’s never seen the stranger before in his life, even on the way to the mailbox or in the morning when he jogs sometimes.

Connor and Travis know everyone in their building, and they’ve never mentioned anyone like this guy before. He would’ve remembered it, he’s sure.

“Mandible, manubrium, maxilla.” He says quietly to himself.

“Hm?” The stranger asks, “Did you say something?”

He almost kicks himself. Way to go. “No. Just…tired. Night shift,” He explains.

“Tell me about it.” The stranger says, though he seems much more acclimated to being nocturnal.

The doors open with a soft ding and he lets the stranger leave first. The stranger turns to disappear down the hall.

“Good night.” He says, and again, he can’t seem to come up with a good reason as to why he would say that. No doubt the stranger thinks he’s crazy by now, mumbling about bones to himself in an elevator at four in the morning. He feels crazy, anyways.

“Good _morning_ ,” The stranger answers, amiably.

He heads in the opposite direction, counting apartment numbers now instead of bones in the hand. He passes by the unusual stain in the carpet that’s been there for as long as he can remember. Almost all the lights in the hallway are off, except the one in front of his apartment, signaling that Connor must be up, or the brothers were thoughtful enough to leave him a beacon in the night.

He’s about to retrieve his apartment key when the door swings open with Connor behind it, dressed for work. “Hi Will, bye Will.” Connor says around a mouthful of toaster waffle, the rest of his breakfast in his hand. His tan UPS polo is halfway untucked out of his pants and if he had brushed past him with a little more than a wave, Will would’ve pointed it out to him.

It isn’t that big of a deal though. Connor needs to catch his bus and he can always fix his appearance there.

Will steps into the apartment, still smelling vaguely of half burnt cheese from the enchiladas Travis made for dinner. It smells like the best thing in the world, especially when the last thing Will ate was a package of peanuts from the hospital cafeteria’s vending machine.

He drops his bag unceremoniously onto the floor by the door and turns around to lock up. His shoes and jacket are the next thing to go, kicked off and hung up haphazardly.

The light of the fridge is almost too much for his pupils to process and if the grumbling in his stomach wasn’t so severe he wouldn’t have even bothered. But it is pretty bad, and so he braves it.

Half congealed cheese never looked so good as he plops the thing onto a plate and sticks it in the microwave. The most awake part of Will’s brain idly hopes the beeping of the microwave and his fumbling around won’t wake up Travis, but then he remembers that Travis once slept through a hail storm and the fire department putting out flames right across the street so he probably has nothing to worry about.

Still, he tries to stop the microwave before it can beep and doesn’t even mind when the cheese burns the roof of his mouth. It tastes like the food of the gods at this point.

After inhaling his tortilla and cheese-byproduct dinner, he sets the plate carefully in the sink, doing his best to not bang around too much, and makes his way to the couch, collapsing face first into the sofa. He mutters, “Radius, ribs and sacrum,” before he falls asleep.

…

He wakes up to the sound of vacuuming and Travis trying to sing over the sound of it. Will blinks a couple of times, trying to get the sleep out of his eyes before pushing his face off the sofa. A paper towel that Will doesn’t remember falling asleep on falls off the sofa as he moves to get up. Will takes another look at it and frowns. Must’ve been put there by Travis, but for what reason?

Probably Katie. She must be coming over if Travis had finally gotten off of his ass and started to clean. He only did it when he had the thoughts of his girlfriend to spur him on.

Somehow sensing that Will is kneeling on the sofa, readily awake and staring at him, Travis stops waltzing with the vacuum long enough to turn it off. He takes one earbud out of his ear and grins that lopsided smile he and his brother share, “Morning, Sunshine, how’d you sleep?”

“Like the dead…” Will says, eyes falling down to the paper towel on the floor. He picks it up and looks questioningly at Travis, to which the other responds with, “Had to stop you from drooling on the couch somehow. Katie’s coming over and the last thing I need is your drool all over the place.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Will says, still feeling groggy and disoriented. The sun is coming through the window that faces the west so it must be past noon. God, how long had he slept?

“What time is it?” He asks Travis.

“’Bout a quarter after two,” Travis says after he checks his phone, “You were out, man. The vacuum didn’t even wake you up after half an hour. What time did you get in this morning?”

“Four? I think. I saw Connor run out the door.” Will says. His stomach is growling at him again. And he needs to take a piss. And shower, maybe. Shit, he feels gross.

He decides to appease his stomach first and makes his way to the kitchen. In that moment, Travis seems to realize that his roommate has lost interest in conversation and decides to go back to his cleaning, sticking his earbud back in and starting to hum to something that sounded vaguely like that one Third Eye Blind song Will couldn’t remember the name of. Oh well, things like that usually come to him eventually.

It seems to Will that he hadn’t eaten all that long ago, when really it had been hours. Cereal seems to be the thing he could make the fastest, eat the fastest, and then get out of Travis’ way when Katie came over. Travis would definitely want him out of the way.

He eats his bowl of Raisin Bran (he made himself in charge of cereal-buying simply because he couldn’t stand one more bite of Lucky Charms) over the sink and tries not to think about how long he’s spent in this one pair of scrubs. A trip to the washers and dryers downstairs was probably in order.

Maybe that’s what he could do when Katie dropped by. He may as well make use of his time off while he isn’t allowed in the general vicinity of Travis and his date.

…

He feels much more refreshed after his shower, finally like himself. He shakes his head a few times in front of the fan in his room to get the wetness out of his hair before he pulls a sweater over his head. Another reason to do laundry: he’s run out of undershirts and wearing wool is no fun without them.

Will finishes gathering his laundry in the hamper when the doorbell buzzes, signifying that Katie has arrived. Originally, Will plans to say a quick hello-goodbye to Katie and Travis like Connor had done to him much earlier, but Travis’ loud exclamation of: “What the _fuck_ is that?” grabs Will’s attention and prompts him to stay a little longer.

He tries to seem nonchalant about coming to investigate what Katie brought with her but his plan is foiled when Katie spots him lingering in the hall to the bedrooms.

“Oh, Will, hi! Come see what I found at your door!”

“That was at our _door_?!” Travis exclaims again, and Will’s interest is really piqued.

In Katie’s arms is the mangiest cat Will thinks he’s ever seen. It looks like its coat was originally a gold color, now brown from the dirt caked into its fur. The feline turns to look at Will with a surprising amount of sentience that almost makes Will take a step back because honestly, the cat looks murderous and Will doesn’t think he ever wants to take a step closer to it.

“Isn’t he cute?” Katie beams, bringing the cat up to her face and nuzzling noses with it. Neither the cat or Travis look much amused.

“Awe, Katie-flower don’t do that, you don’t know where that thing has been!”

“He! The cat is a _he_ , Travis. Use the proper pronouns!”

“I don’t care what the hell it is, he’s going back outside where he belongs. He could be carrying diseases and shit, right Will? Will, you’re the doctor, tell her!”

Will, who is very much trying to stay out of this lovers’ quarrel just nods vaguely and says, “Uh…you should probably wash your hands, or something, Katie. And I wouldn’t recommend putting your face that close to any animal. Cat bites are particularly nasty.”

At that statement, Travis thrusts his arms in the general direction where Will is standing and fixing his girlfriend with a pointed look as if to say, “See, the medical professional thinks you’re crazy, too.”

“I appreciate your input, Will, honey, but I think I’m going to clean this precious little baby up anyways. Who knows how long this little guy is been without a meal? Isn’t that right sweetie, isn’t that right?” Katie says, dissolving into baby talk and scratching the cat underneath his chin which the cat seems to enjoy only moderately more than the nose kisses from before.

 _Now’s your chance_ , Will thinks to himself and slips out the door before Travis can rope him into trying to get the cat away from his girlfriend. Will knows it’s kind of shitty of him to skip out of Travis like that but then again, Travis is the one who once sewed all of his underwear together and used it as a cape for a Halloween costume, so maybe it’s alright to leave him be for once.

He hefts the laundry basket under one arm so he can push the button to call the elevator. The ding of the doors opening takes him back to earlier that morning and the mysterious (and honestly, _handsome_ ) stranger that he had last ridden in the elevator with. He presses the button for the ground floor and swallows down the familiar feeling of his stomach jumping into his chest as the elevator drops.

The basement smell permeates the elevator when the doors slide open. It’s sort of mildew-y and stale from the water pipes and probably isn’t very good to breathe in but Will will deal if it means clean undershirts.

The sound of his sneakers on the hard concrete echoes around the dim hallway while he walks from the elevator to the laundry room. The basket is straining his arms, it’s so heavy and maybe Will should’ve done this without having to be kicked out of his apartment to motivate him.

He turns the corner into the laundry room that didn’t have a door and found himself stopping short. So his sleep deprived mind hadn’t just made him up. There stands the handsome stranger, his back half to Will, leaning over one of the washing machines and stapling a “LOST CAT” poster to the wall.

Will finds himself clearing his throat. The stranger turns. His eyes look impossibly dark in the bad fluorescent light and Will could now see that even for five foot six, the stranger is well muscled, like…a cat, actually.

“Um, I think I found your cat?”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The mysterious owner of the cat is revealed and not as much laundry gets done as it should.
> 
> Travis just wants the thing out of his apartment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> whaaaa an update? inconceivable!
> 
> ...  
> Also I have gotten a multitude of messages both on this site and on fanfic that comment on how OOC Nico is. Yes. I know. It's an AU, that's how these things work sometimes. Nerdy, shy Nico will come later but trust me and deal with this suave motherfucker for a little while longer.

Will didn’t mean for it to come out as a question.

“You think?” The stranger asks, smirking a little. “Hey, wait a minute. You’re that guy from the elevator this morning, the one reciting those bones. I had to look that up.”

“Oh…um. Yeah. It kept me awake.” Will says. He’s still rooted to the spot in the door, looking at the stranger and taking in every detail. He hopes that no one else has to use the washers and dryers because they wouldn’t be able to squeeze past him.

“You a doctor or something, then?” The stranger asks, pushing himself up to sit on the washer behind him by his pile of missing posters and his stapler.

“Well, actually, I’m a surgeon. Well, sort of. I’m still in my residency. But I’m almost done with schooling. So yeah. A doctor.” Will blushes. Apparently hot, suave strangers take away all of his tact. The stranger raises a perfectly plucked eyebrow and Will is struck with how odd of a thing that is to notice.

“You must have steady hands.” The stranger laughs. Will can feel all the blood in his body rush to his head so fast it almost makes him a little queasy. He’s trying to formulate an answer, but gives up, instead closing his mouth to stop himself from looking like too much of an idiot. He walks over to one of the washers the stranger isn’t sitting on.

“Awe, hey, I didn’t mean to embarrass you.” The stranger says, kicking his legs lightly against the washer he’s perched on, “I’m Nico, by the way.”

“Will.” Will says, putting his laundry basket down a more forcefully than usual.

“Do you really know where my sister’s cat is?” Nico asks. It’s a little surreal to have a name to put with a face. It seems to cement Nico as a real person and not just a figment of Will’s exhausted brain after the night shift. God, he hates the night shift.

“My roommate’s girlfriend found him outside our apartment.”

“God, I am so sorry. He’s awful, isn’t he? Mangy little fucker. Doesn’t seem to like anyone with low estrogen levels.”

Will chuckles a little at Nico’s description of the cat, but can’t help but agree. The cat probably had looked even worse because of being on the streets for so long but then again, he didn’t look much better in the photo on the flyer.

“What’s his name?” Will asks, finally turning to look at Nico. He’s a little taken aback by the intensity of Nico’s gaze on him. The man has incredibly dark eyes that are framed by long, dark lashes that give him a natural, sultry look. Will tries his best to shake those thoughts from his head.

“Arion. Greek or Roman or some shit. My dad named him. He’s as old as dirt, the cat, not my dad, and I’m just waiting for him to die to we can get a nicer one. The cat, again. Not a dad.” His high cheekbones redden a bit, “My sister loves him though, and since I’m a good big brother, I’m putting up these posters.” Nico explains.  

“Well, you’re welcome to come and collect him.” Will says, “Right now I think he’s cockblocking my roommate.”

Nico laughs, throwing his head back a bit, “Oh I bet. That sounds like him, alright.”

Will almost asks him if he has a lot of firsthand knowledge of this, but they’ve only just met and that doesn’t seem like an appropriate question.

“You should probably finish your laundry first.” Nico says.

“What—oh.” Will blushes when he remembers that’s why he came down here in the first place, not just to ogle handsome strangers with missing cats. “Yeah, I should…I should probably do that, huh.”

Will opens the top of the washer and turns on the water. Nico hands him the detergent from his place on the washer next to him. He continues to kick his legs against the machine, making a slight clanging sound that echoes off the cement walls.

“I’ve never done a surgeon before,” Nico says.

“What!?” Will almost drops a pair of underwear on the floor.

“I said I’ve never met a surgeon before.” Nico says again. Will looks up to meet his eyes, the look on Nico’s face is totally not innocent. Will heard correctly the first time.

“You’ve never been to a hospital?” Will says, deciding not to play along.

“Oh come on,” Nico says, “That’s totally not the same thing. Hey, what kind of surgeon are you anyways?”

“Pediatric,” Will says, “Or studying to be, anyways. What is this, Twenty Questions?”

He feels sort of bad for snapping at Nico, but there’s something about the quirk of Nico’s smile that makes him feel disoriented and unsteady. Like Nico’s practiced that smile a thousand times and Will’s just another unlucky sap to be pulled in by it. Nico retracts only slightly and tilts his head to the side.

“It would be if you asked me something.”

Will thinks for a minute, throwing the last of his t-shirts into the wash and closing the lid with a slight bang. “Ok. First of all, what’s your last name?”

“di Angelo. Easy. What’s yours?”

“Solace.”

“Alright, Sunshine. I have another question.”

Only a little miffed at the nickname (he had enough people already calling him that), Will asks, “Which is…?”

“Are you done your laundry so I can get my sister’s cat back now?” Nico says, hopping off the washing machine. Will tries to shake thoughts about how long Nico’s legs are in those jeans. Or how tight they are on him.

Bad thoughts, Solace. Don’t go there.

Will picks up his laundry basket and lets Nico follow him back to the elevator.

…

When they get to the apartment, Travis is sitting outside, looking completely dejected.

“You alright, man?” Will asks. Travis shakes his head, “She threw me out for that fucking _cat_.”

“She threw you out of your own apartment?” Will tries his best to keep the humor out of his voice, but it’s difficult.

Crossing his arms, Travis sighs, “ _Yes._ She wanted to give the cat a bath and I said that I didn’t want that thing anywhere near where I bathe and then she called me an nature hating capitalist, _whatever that means_ and told me to get out if I wasn’t going to help her. So here I am. Whose Tall, Dark and Broody over there?”

The last statement is directed at Nico, who stands half a step behind Will. Will goes to make introductions.

“This is Nico di Angelo. The cat belongs to his sister. Nico, this is Travis Stoll, he’s one of my roommates.”

“Pleasure.” Nico says. Travis gets up from the floor to shake hands.

“Did she lock you out, too?” Will asks.

“No.” Travis says bitterly and opens the door.

Will goes in first, Travis in the middle and Nico bringing up the rear. “Katie?” Will calls.

“In here!” Comes from the general direction of the bathroom. Will goes on ahead, leaving Nico and Travis in the living area to see if he can appease Katie on his own.

What he finds when he enters the bathroom surprises him. One, Katie hasn’t been completely mauled by Arion in the process of washing him. Two, Arion seems pleased to be towel dried by Katie, who sits on the edge of the bath.

“I found the owner of the cat.”

“Oh good!” Katie says, perking up. “Didja find out this little guy’s name?

“Arion.” Will says, “It’s Greek. I think.”

Katie looks down at Arion who is purring in her lap, “Hear that, buddy? Time to go home.”

She wraps Arion, who is still a little damp, up in a ratty old towel (at least she used the old ones) and stands. Will moves aside to let her leave the bathroom, following her out to the living area where Nico and Travis still are. Travis is sitting in one of their Salvation Army chairs with his head in his hands. Nico sits awkwardly on the armrest.

They both look up when Katie enters. Nico looks a little shocked when he spots Arion in such a good mood and bathed of all things.

“Arion might have to get lost at your place more often.” He says.

“God, no!” Travis interjects. Katie rolls her eyes, but walks over to drop a kiss on his curly head. Arion hisses at the proximity.

“I’m Katie Gardner.” Katie says, shifting Arion to her left arm so she can shake Nico’s hand.

“Nico di Angelo,” Nico says. “Arion wasn’t too much trouble, was he?”

“Oh no,” Katie exclaims, “He was darling.”

“My sister will be happy to hear that, I’m sure. There’s some kind of reward I think, for finding the cat, but I’ll have to check—,”

Katie cuts him off, “Oh no, honey, I don’t want to take anything from you. I’m just glad his cutie found his home.”

She nuzzles Arion once more, who takes it better than he did earlier. With a little regret written on her face, she hand Nico Arion. Both of them seem displeased by this.

Travis, however, looks ecstatic.

“Well, I should get going. I’m sure Hazel will be happy to know Arion’s been found. It was nice meeting you all,” Nico says. He offers them one of those crowd pleasing smiles that Will received earlier and turns to leave.

Will follows him out to the door, to at least seem like a good host.

“I’m glad your sister will get her cat back.”

“Yeah,” Nico says. He turns to go but suddenly thinks better of it. It makes Will’s breath catch for a moment.

“I live in apartment 513, if you know, want to check on Arion or anything.” Nico says. His cheeks are pink again, and there’s a little smile pulling on the corner of his lips that doesn’t looked rehearsed.

“I—I might drop by. Purely for Arion.”

“Oh yeah, of course.” Nico says. There’s a pause. “Oh, and Sunshine?”

“Yeah?”

“Don’t forget your laundry.” Nico smirks, the suave flair back in place, as he turns and closes the door behind in.

Laundry, Will thinks, right.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We meet Hazel in this chapter. Also...what's happened to Nico?!
> 
> Some mention of date rape drugs being used. Be careful, anyone that may be triggered.

Will sees Nico sooner than he expects. At least, by six degrees of separation.

Connor gets home, dog tired like usual, around 4 o’clock. He walks in through the door like a zombie. At least his shirt is tucked in, Will thinks.

“I’m going to behead anyone who gets in my way of a hot shower.” Connor says. His hair sticks up at odd angles, probably because he’d been wearing his UPS baseball cap all day.

“I don’t think that’s Kosher, little bro.” Travis says from his spot on the couch. Katie is still there, tucked under Travis’ arm.

They’re watching something on TV. Will is not sure exactly what, having lost interest in the program ages ago. From the accents of the people talking, it’s either old reruns of _The Crocodile Hunter_ or _Doctor Who_. Both featured reptiles from time to time and Will is bad at distinguishing the accents.

At the moment, Will is reading one of his medical books on the recliner they got off the side of the Turnpike. He’s trying to pretend he doesn’t exist as Katie and Travis kiss every so often.

“Fuck Kosher.” Connor says. He’s usually in this mood when he gets back from work. If Will had to get up at three in the morning 5 days a week, he’d probably cry. Or die. Whichever was most the most convenient at the time. It was hard enough for him to make it through the night shift.

Connor stumbles into the bathroom and closes the door with a bang.

The episode of whatever Travis and Katie are watching ends in the next half hour. Connor is still in the bathroom, and Will doesn’t even want to think about what he’s doing in there.

“I should go. Miranda is working today and she doesn’t like to close up shop alone.” Katie stands from the couch and straightens her peasant blouse. Travis stands right after, “Ok. I’ll walk you to the car.”

The front door closes with a bang. Almost as soon as Katie and Travis leave, Will sees Connor’s head poke out of the bathroom.

“They gone?” Connor asks.

“Yeah?” Will says.

Connor steps out of the bathroom wearing just a towel. “Last time I stepped out without pants when Katie was here, Travis put itching powder in my work shoes.” He makes a face at Will from down the hall, before turning to go into his room.

“Which is weird!” Connor shouts from his room, which is at the end of the hall, “I mean she’s seen Travis, she’s basically seen me too.”

“Maybe Travis is worried that Katie will like what she sees and leave him.” Will deadpans. Connor, however, doesn’t pick up the tone. Or at least chooses not to.

“Probably. Glad someone understands, Will my man.”

He steps out of his room in khakis and a t-shirt. His curls are still sticking up in every possible direction.

The doorbell rings and they both freeze. Connor snorts out a laugh, “Moron probably forgot his fucking key.”

He bounds his way over to the door with long steps. “Hey, ya idio—oh, you’re not my brother.”

Will is putting down his book in an instant and rushing to the door. Is it Nico? Did he forget something? Is he here to retract his invitation? That seemed more like a note under the door sort of thing, not face to face.

It’s not Nico though. In the doorway is a pretty, dark skinned girl a little younger than Nico with golden curls pulled back from her face. She has on a multicolored dress that ties around her neck and a jeans jacket. In her arms is a big soup pot.

“Is one of you…Will Solace?” She asks. She has a southern lilt to her voice. If Will had to guess, he’d say Louisiana.

“I am,” Will says, stepping forward. He pushes Connor out of the doorway. His roommate makes an annoyed huff but doesn’t say anything rude. Thankfully.

Her eyes light up, “You don’t look like my brother’s usual type.”

Will takes a step back, startled, “Excuse me?”

She flushes a little, “Sorry. That was rude. Let me try again. I’m Hazel Levesque, Nico’s sister.”

Will is a little surprised by that fact to say the least, considering…well…they don’t look anything alike. But, if Will looks a little harder, they have the same quirk to their mouth when they smile and the same kind of quiet intensity in their eyes.

“Oh, of course. Come in, come in.” Will says and moves out of her way. The soup pot looks heavy and Will feels like a bad host.

She steps over the threshold and comes to stand in their hallway. “Can I take that for you?” Will asks.

“Oh, thank you.”

Hazel hands the pot to Will who hands it to Connor. Connor looks a bit put out by this, and mutters something about “waiting on him hand and foot.” Will chooses to ignore him.

“Nico told me about what you did for Arion, and despite what my brother thinks, I know that cat is kind of hard to get along with. I’m just awfully thankful that you brought him in; Arion was a gift and I don’t know what I’d do without him.”

“It was really not a problem,” Will says, “But I was hardly the one to take him in.”

“Well then just tell whoever did that they did a good thing and I’m thankful, ok?”

Will laughs, “I think I can do that. I’ll let her know.”

Hazel smiles brightly, similar to Nico’s small smile earlier. “The pot has some gumbo in it, just as a way of thanks. I’m pretty sure Nico told you where we live, so when you’re done, feel free to drop off the pot.”

“Will do,” Will says. He’s a little surprised when Hazel hugs him, but accepts what he’s given. She hugs tightly and Will feels his back pop in two places.

“Oh, whoops. Sorry,” she says, pulling away, “Usually when I hug Nico I have to hold on pretty tight or he escapes.” She sighs and steps back, “Anyways, I should get going. But I have a feeling, Will Solace, that we will be seeing plenty of each other in the near future.”

With that, she gives his bicep one last squeeze and waves a little to Connor before opening the door and letting herself out.

“Dude,” Connor says after a minute, “I’m pretty sure that gumbo isn’t kosher.”

Will sighs through his nose.

…

Will eats the gumbo for dinner. It’s good; really good. In fact, it kind of makes Will wish for home back down south. He’s gotten pretty good at pretending to be a Yankee, but every time the cafeteria at the hospital serves their bastardization of fried chicken, it makes Will long for home back in Texas. Travis and Connor always get on his case when he gets really nostalgic and starts dropping his ‘g’s.

The gumbo is so good, Will almost considers eating it for breakfast the next morning when he gets up at 4:30 am to be at work in an hour. Waking up at 4:30 is a lot better than _staying up_ to 4:30 during the night shift, he decides.

Will makes the healthier choice though and opts for an egg sandwich and some yogurt.

Travis is still asleep and Connor left half an hour ago, so the apartment is eerily quiet this time of the morning. Even so, Will doesn’t mind having the mornings to himself. It’s a nice way to start the day which can usually be counted on being filled with at least one screaming child and a pair of non-vaccer parents.

Donned in scrubs, his crocs and a hoodie, Will hefts his bag over his shoulder and locks up the apartment door behind him.

He thinks on his way downstairs that he’ll never be able to think about the elevator the same way as long as he lives in this apartment. That rattling hunk of metal brought him Nico di Angelo, who hides something behind that smile. Will is more determined every time he thinks about Nico to get to know that man better.

He almost jumps when the elevator opens and somebody crashes right into him. And by crashes, more like falls. A hundred-and-fifty something pounds of deadweight falls directly into Will.

The person’s dark hair falls away from their face and it’s…Nico?

Speak of the devil and they shall appear.

But something is seriously wrong. Other than the fact Nico is unconscious in Will’s arms (and Will likes to think he isn’t terribly weak, but Nico isn’t that much shorter than Will and all limbs so it’s hard to support all of him at once) but Will knows from previous experience that this isn’t usually how Nico is at this time of night. Morning. Whatever.

Will lowers Nico to the floor of the elevator. Immediately, he goes to check Nico’s pulse. It’s slow and sort of faint but it’s there. Right now, Nico is like a sack of bricks—his muscles are so relaxed all Will can do is hold his head up to make sure he doesn’t drown in his own saliva.

From his position on the floor of the elevator, Will manages to hit the button for their floor. The car doesn’t rise fast enough.

It’s all Will can door to heft Nico over his shoulder in a fireman’s carry and trek down the hall in the opposite direction of the one he usually takes in search of 513.

The apartment is at the end of the corridor. The entrance would be kind of dark even in the daytime, because the only window in the hall is at the other end.

It would be too complicated to try and even see if Nico had his keys on him, and it would take too much time to try every key on the ring to see which one is right. Besides, Will would feel awful for touching Nico and digging around in his pockets during his altered state.

He has an idea to what could’ve happened to Nico and the more he thinks about it, the more it sounds worse and worse.

All he can do is hope Hazel is a light sleeper, or at least can be easily woken at a quarter-to-five in the morning as Will bangs on the front door to the apartment. Nico doesn’t stir against his shoulder, even with all the racket.

Will’s prayers are answered. Within a few minutes, Hazel pulls open the door, hair a wild mess and obviously having just woken up. She yawns and reaches up one hand to rub the sleep out of her eyes.

“Did you forget your key again, or…oh my god, Will. Is that…?”

“Just help me get him inside and I’ll tell you everything I know.” Will says. Hazel immediately gets out of the door frame and leads Will through the apartment. It’s laid out similarly to the one Will shares with Connor and Travis, but just a little smaller.

“Here’s his room,” Hazel says and pushes open the door. Will spots the bed and dumps Nico there. Will’s shoulder aches from carrying the other man, but that’s hardly his biggest concern right now.

“Where the hell did you find him?” Hazel asks as they both move to help prop Nico up. Will places two fingers under Nico’s left thumb. His pulse is slowly starting to creep back up, which is good. Will feels it’s a little easier to breathe.

“I found him in the lobby. Or well, he found me. He fell right on top of me as the elevator doors were opening. And right now, I need you to make sure he has his wallet and his phone and that there isn’t any evidence of forceful copulation.”

“Forceful copu—are you saying what I think you’re saying?”

Will nods grimly, eyes not straying from Nico’s face. The other man looks pained, like he’s in the middle of a bad dream.

“I’m so sorry, but I’m almost positive that Nico was roofied.”

Hazel’s mouth hangs open a bit, “My brother…date rape. Oh my _god_.”

…

He’s glad Hazel doesn’t faint. He doesn’t think he’d be able to handle two unconscious people at once.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There might be some more drug mentions throughout the story but as of now, this is what you get. 
> 
> Hope everyone enjoyed the speedier update; in the next chapter we get a description of Nico's room!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nico wakes up and spends the day with Will. Also, Nico is the kind of person who doesn't use proper capitalization when he texts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> jesus h christ sorry for the super slow update

The hospital is understanding. There’s always someone available to take over a shift. And besides, Will is generally pretty good at getting to work on time. He feels a little bitter, but the hospital owes it to him after that horrible night shift two days ago.

God, two days. He’s only known Nico two days and he’s ended up in his apartment, watching over him as his body tries to fight off the date rape drugs.

For good measure, he texts Travis and Connor. They won’t be up yet, but they should at least know Will might be home a different time than usual.

By the time he reenters Nico’s bedroom, Hazel has him dressed in Batman pajama pants and a clean black shirt. She’s tied his hair back for him, into a short, neat ponytail. His hands are folded over his stomach. It gives Will an eerie feeling of an open casket funeral.

Will takes one of Nico’s hands (they’re cold) to check his pulse one more time. It’s normal now. Steady. He places the hand at Nico’s side, and now Nico looks a little more natural.

Hazel looks distraught and angry, but Will isn’t sure if she’s angrier at her brother of herself. “I-I have to go to work soon,” she whispers like she’s afraid Nico will wake up if she speaks too loudly.

“That’s alright,” Will says, “I can stay with him.”

“Are you sure?” Hazel says, tearing her gaze away from Nico’s face and looking to Will. She’s wrapped her arms around herself and worriedly bites her lip.

“Of course,” Will says, “My schedule is flexible and it’s not good to have him here all by himself.”

It’s quiet for a few minutes as Hazel thinks. Will feels more than a little awkward, standing opposite to her, on the other side of the bed from here, while her unconscious brother sleeps between them. “Ok,” she finally consents, “Ok, I should start getting ready.”

…

Nico’s room is nice, Will thinks, but dark. He takes a look around after dragging a chair over to Nico’s bedside and making himself comfortable. Even the chair he’s dragged over is nice. It’s a deep red wingback with gold button and as Will sinks into the seat, he thinks it feels a little expensive for a bartender.

Shaking that thought from his mind, he looks around again. The walls are dark grey, which makes the room seem even darker with the blinds drawn. The only light is coming from an antique lamp on one of the bedside tables. Behind Nico’s queen sized bed is a star map printed on a thin black cloth in silver ink.

Framing the window are two places to burn incense. Will is glad the sconces are far enough away from the curtains as to not cause a fire hazard—the curtains are the light blocking type, heavy and black.

Nico’s desk is on the far wall. It’s covered in papers and what Will thinks are a few law text books, as well as a sleek silver MacBook.

All in all, Nico’s room reminds Will a lot of a cave. A well-furnished cave, maybe like the Bat Cave (which makes the pajama pants a little more ironic), but a cave nonetheless.  

Will settles himself in his chair and readies himself to wait. He can hear the faint sound of water in the pipes as Hazel showers and the whirr of the air condition in the otherwise quiet apartment. Everything is peaceful, but Nico has been hurt and everything is wrong.

Half an hour later, Hazel walks into the room, dressed for work. She’s wearing a polo shirt with a business insignia on it. In the darkness of the room, Will can’t tell exactly what it is, but that’s not a big deal.

“If you get hungry help yourself to whatever’s in the fridge, I think we have some Jimmy Dean breakfast sandwiches in the freezer? We have cable, so feel free to watch some TV. The WI-FI password is ‘asphodel13’ and if Arion shows up and starts being a bother, feel free to put him in the bathroom or something. I should be home just before five, but if you have any questions, here’s my number.”

She hands him a Post-It Note with a phone number on it and Will sticks it to the back of his phone so he won’t lose it.

Hazel walks over to Nico’s bedside and kisses his forehead. She whispers something into his hair before standing up, offering Will a smile, and closing the bedroom door behind her with a quiet click. A minute later, Will hears the front door close with a sharp sound that rattles the apartment walls.

Will tries, for the next few hours, to be a constant vigilante, watching over Nico and ensuring his wellbeing. It’s only after so many games of Crossy Roads that he can feel his eyes start to droop and his head lean against the side of the wingback.

He has strange dreams, nothing he can remember if he thinks about it, but he gets the feeling they’re just strange. Like the dreams he got in med school when he’d eat pepperoni pizza right before bed.

He wakes up, startled when he hears a groan. Will’s eyes open and in a second he’s half way out of his chair before he’s fully awake.

Nico is starting to wake up. He’s moved one of his hands to rub at his forehead and cover his eyes. Will hears him mutter a quiet, croaking, “ _What the hell?_ ”

“Nico?” Will doesn’t mean to startle the other man, but he sees Nico jump a little at the sound of his name. Turning his head a little and still shielding his eyes, Nico squints as he looks up at Will.

“Will?” He asks, confused. “What…what the hell happened? Why are you dressed in scrubs? Why do I feel like I have the worst hangover of my life?”

Will tries to answer all of Nico’s questions in quick succession, “You were, um, drugged. I was going to work when I found you and brought you here; and that hangover feeling is probably a side effect of the drugs running off. Since I’m not sure what you were drugged _with_ , I can’t be completely accurate.”

Nico’s eyes widen with every word that comes out of Will’s mouth and when he’s done, Nico’s hand drops from his eyes and he lets out a groan.

“That fucking bastard. I’ll fucking kill him.” Nico says. Will wants to ask about a million questions, especially because it sounds like Nico _knows_ who might’ve done this to him.

Instead, Will keeps quiet. He’s a doctor, he knows that sometimes patients have a hard time opening up. “I’ll get you a glass of water and some aspirin. You should also probably eat something. Toast?”

Nico nods, but then clutches his stomach. “Maybe not. I-I think I’m gonna vomit actually.”

“Because of your headache or mental overload?” Will asks. He helps Nico sit up and get to his feet. Nico’s weak from the stress the drugs put on his body and he shakes as Will tries to lead him to the bathroom. His mind flashes back to this morning when Nico’s deadweight was on top of him. This is only slightly better, Will thinks, because Nico is at least conscious this time.

“Both?” Nico says weakly. With slow steps they make it the six feet from Nico’s door to the bathroom. Nico sits on the edge of the ceramic tub and immediately puts his head between his knees, taking slow deep breaths. He earlier compared his current state to a hangover, so Will makes the conclusion that Nico’s following his usual procedures for that. 

In case Nico actually does need to throw up, he lifts the seat on the toilet. Then, he squats down and rests on his haunches in front of Nico, who looks only slightly less pale than when he was unresponsive. His lips (at the thought of Nico’s lips, Will finds himself blushing) are especially pale, making Nico look corpse-like.

“Can I check your pulse?” Will asks in a soft voice.

Nico says nothing, but sticks his left wrist out. The beat of his pulse under Will’s fingers is stronger than earlier. His vitals are improving and Will finds that his shoulders relax a little at the fluttering beat in Nico’s wrist.

“Ok,” Will continues, letting Nico have his wrist back, “You really shouldn’t take any aspirin without eating first, so let’s just start with the water.”

He’s worried Nico might faint or fall over and he won’t be there to catch him, but there’s nothing he can do about that right now. He’ll just have to trust Nico to be alright by himself for a few minutes.

The apartment that Nico and Hazel share isn’t much different from the one Will shares with Travis and Connor, so finding the kitchen isn’t the problem. It’s navigating the cabinets and trying to find a cup that proves difficult. Will draws the conclusion that Nico and his sister are foodies, because there are all kind of kitchen utensils and appliances Will can’t even begin to name. Living with the Stoll brothers, collectively their culinary abilities stop with kosher beef hotdogs and latkes.

Will roots around the kitchen a little more, opening cabinets at random until he finds a plastic cup, like the kind you buy at a sports game. It’s a little faded, but it looks like a cup from a Toronto Maple Leafs game, which seems weird because they certainly don’t live in Canada and Nico and Hazel don’t really strike Will as hockey fans.

Whatever, though. Plastic seems a lot safer than giving Nico a glass.

The refrigerator dispenses ice and water, so Will fills the cup up with both and heads back to the bathroom.

Nico has lowered himself to the floor, now leaning against the side of the tub. His black hair is sticking to his forehead as he’s covered in a cool sweat.

“Here,” Will says. He supports Nico and helps him hold the cup. The dark haired man drains the cup and then presses the cool surface to his forehead.

“Ok,” Nico says. It sounds like he’s steeling himself for something, “I’m ready for some toast. Could you help me to the couch?”

The next half hour consists of Will making some toast with peanut butter for Nico who sits on the couch wrapped up in a blanket burrito. He sips on some more ice water in the Maple Leafs cup and watches Bob’s Burgers on Netflix; when Will hands him his toast, he nibbles on that.

It’s obvious enough that Nico has stabilized, but Will is hesitant to leave him by himself. And, he admits to himself, Nico’s quiet presence is nice.

When the episode Nico is watching ends, Will gathers up his courage and asks, “Do you remember anything from last night?”

For a second, he thinks that Nico won’t answer. Then, Nico pauses the next episode that comes up and leans back into the couch. (The couch is also really nice, Will notices. Leather.)

“We were wrapping up for the evening. Sometimes I stay after and help clean up, you know? One of the guys I work with makes me a drink, and it’s just the employees left right, and I maybe turn away for a second to tell a colleague something and then come back to my drink. All of a sudden I just feel…off, I guess. So I slip out as quickly as I can and call a cab cause I definitely don’t feel like I should be driving and I remember getting to the building and paying my driver and then…”

Nico tilts his head as if to say, “ _And that’s when you showed up_.”

“Do you know who might’ve…done it?” Will asks like it’s too personal of a question as soon as it comes out of his mouth.

The response to the question is immediate. Nico clams up and says sternly, “I can handle it.”

It’s said with such a terse tone that Will opens his mouth to apologize but Nico beats him to it.

“Sorry,” he says, “That was rude. Thanks for taking care of me, really. I’d probably be dead in a ditch somewhere if it wasn’t for you. My sister says I can be kind of a bitch when I’m sick.”

They both laugh and the atmosphere lightens up some.

When Will’s phone rings, it startles the both of them. Will doesn’t recognize the number right away, but then it dawns on him it’s Hazel calling him from the number she gave him earlier.

“Hello?” Will answers. Nico looks at him, confused, so Will mouths to him who it is. Nodding, Nico curls up a little more in his blanket.

“Will? It’s Hazel. I’m just checking to see how Nico’s doing.”

Will could kick himself. He should’ve called Hazel when Nico woke up.

“He’s actually awake. Do you want to talk to him?”

“Please!” Hazel says.

He hands the phone to Nico who cradles it close to his ear and says, “Hey, sis.”

After a second he pulls the phone away from his ear abruptly and grimaces. Will can’t hear the actual words but Hazel sounds anything but happy on the other end of the line. Nico waits for his sister to end her rant before putting the phone back to his ear and saying, “ _Mi dispiace._ I’m sorry, Hazel. I know. I know.”

He pauses and makes another face at what Hazel tells him. For a fleeting moment, Will thinks it’s cute how Nico’s brows furrow together and he pouts as Hazel scolds him.

Will quickly stops that train of thought.

 “Ok, yes. I’ll call her. Let me…no, just let me _handle this_. I’m _not_ calling _him_. And don’t you tell him because the last thing I need is him barging in and making this a bigger deal than it needs to be. I’d rather not have this conversation with you over the phone, ok?”

There’s another pause.

“Alright. Yeah. I’ll tell him. Ok. Love you, too, sis. _Ciao_.”

Nico hangs up and gives the phone back to Will. “Hazel says you’re invited for dinner. She’s not taking no for an answer.”

Will and Nico share a smile. “Ok,” Will says and there’s a warm feeling in his chest, “I’d love to stay.”

…

He must be feeling better, Will thinks, he’s back to his usual flirtatious self.

By the time Hazel comes home, they’ve finished watching the second season of Bob’s Burgers and Nico feels well enough to shower.

Somewhere in that amount of time, Nico finds a minute to call his boss and tell her he won’t be in that night.

“Whether I’m there or here I’ll still probably stay up until four am.” Nico says. He watches Will from the counter as Will does the dishes Nico said he shouldn’t feel obligated to do.

“Hazel’s just worried. I mean, I did carry your unconscious body to her front door. I think she has a right to want you home.”

Nico makes a small sound of assent.

“Well as first dates go,” Nico says, “This was certainly one of the most unorthodox ones I’ve ever had. I don’t know if I’d do it again.”

Will blushes to the roots of his hair and almost drops the dish he’s washing from lunch.

“I mean,” Nico continues and Will wishes he wouldn’t, “You’ve already been in my bedroom, so how much better can it get from here?”

Will makes a strangled sound in the back of his throat.

Luckily, he’s saved by Hazel opening the front door and yelling, “Anyone home?”

“In here, Haze!” Nico says from his perch on the counter.  

Hazel appears from around the corner a makes a beeline for her brother. Nico can only slide off the counter before Hazel’s arms are around him tight enough to crack his back. Now, Hazel isn’t very tall, maybe 5’3” Will thinks, but she’s much stronger than she looks because she’s able to lift Nico several inches off the floor in her hug.

“Ok, Hazel,” Nico rasps, “I get the point, but I need to breathe.”

She releases him and presses several quick kisses to Nico’s face, who makes a big show of wiping them off with the sleeve of his Jack Skellington sweater.

Will is the next focus of Hazel’s attention. She spots him doing the dishes and says, “Oh, honey, you’ve already done so much. You don’t need to worry about that.”

“Really,” Will says, “it’s not a problem.”

“Nuh-uh. You go sit. I’m gonna start dinner. Nico, make our guest feel at home, and _don’t leer at him like that_!”

Dinner is pan-fried chicken. It’s delicious and some of the best fried chicken Will has had since leaving Texas. Even so, he can feel his cholesterol rising as he eats.

Hazel refused her brother a glass of wine at dinner, so Nico is stuck making bedroom eyes at him from over the Maple Leafs cup. If anyone else did it, Will would probably find it hilarious, but somehow Nico pulls it off.  

Hazel makes polite dinner conversation, and they all avoid what happened to Nico the night before. Hazel never mentions Nico’s job and Nico doesn’t bring it up. From across the table he can feels the slight animosity between them. When Will leaves for his own apartment, there’s definitely going to be words had.

He does learn though, what Hazel does for a living. She works two jobs; four days a week she is a manager at a local Cajun restaurant and on the weekends, she reads people’s fortunes with Tarot cards. Will thinks that is kind of cool, and definitely explains the star chart behind Nico’s bed.

Nico is stoic throughout most of dinner, adding comments here and there. He looks tired though, and as a doctor, Will can only recommend rest for Nico and some aspirin when he can take it.

“You’re welcome to stay for dessert.” Hazel says.

Will shakes his head, “Thank you for offering, but I really have to go. My roommates are probably wondering where I am.”

He’s been cryptically texting Travis and Connor all day. It’s time to face his nosy roommates who’d get the full story out of him eventually. Will wants to make the whole process as painless as possible.

“Of course,” Hazel says, “I can—,”

“I’ll show him out,” Nico says, getting out of his seat.

Nico leads him to the front hall and Will gathers his belongings together.

“Um,” Nico coughs, “Look, I’m not really, like, a _feelings_ kind of guy but…thank you. A lot. For…taking care of me.”

Will smiles at him, “You’re welcome.”

Nico offers one of his small, real smiles that makes Will’s stomach flip. “I’d, I’d actually like to go on a date with you. If…if you’d be willing of course.”

“I’d love to,” Will says.

“Great. Um. Here, let me give you my number.”

He puts his number into Will’s phone and hands it back to him. Their fingers brush for just a second and Will pulls his hand away, blushing.

“So…text me?”

“I will, yeah. Oh, and Nico?”

“Yeah?”

“Take care of yourself. Rest a lot.”

“Sure thing, doc.”

…

Connor and Travis are both home when Will gets home. He doesn’t know if that’s a good or bad thing. They question him endlessly like they’re FBI agents or something. Will just wants to crawl into bed. He’s exhausted.

“Look,” he tells them when they shut up long enough for him to get a word in, “I had to help a friend today instead of going to work. I’ll give you full story tomorrow but right now, I’m going to bed. _Good night_.”

When he gets to his room, he strips out of his scrubs which have become uncomfortable to be in all day. He slips into a clean t-shirt ( _Surf Barbados,_ it says; Will got it right before med school when his family still did family vacations) and a pair of sweatpants.

He collapses in bed, never having been happier for a mattress and a pillow. Until he rolls over on his side and sees his phone sitting on the bedside table.

Would it be weird to text Nico right away? Maybe. But he can’t help himself. His stomach knots itself as Will reaches to unlock his phone.

When he types Nico’s name into the recipient bar, Nico’s name with a smirking emoji comes up. It makes Will smile.

**Nico? It’s Will.**

**_Read 9:27_ **

**hey there, sunshine**


End file.
